Rounding third and heading for home!

Well, the internet debacle continues. We pay for a 24 hour chunk at a time and today decided it wasn't worth the additional 100 yuan it was costing us. The transfer rate was pathetic and it was very unreliable. So today (Friday) I post to you compliments of our nearby Starbucks. It's crazy that an establishment from the states finds itself over here, but, hey, business is booming! I'm still losing track of previous posts, so I'll recap the last day or so.  Yesterday we had our Oath appointment @the Consulate in the afternoon. It rained all day, so we made do in the hotel through the morning. Our trip to the Consulate was uneventful, our guides were kind enough to drive us in their car to the appointment. We are the last family of 12 to have this appointment. I guess they're saving the best for last. No cameras are allowed inside the facility so I have no picts. to post from that. It was pretty cut and dried. There were probably 20 families total @the facility. You wait in a big room for either your name, your agency, or the (Chinese) name of your child to be announce. Fortunately we had a lady w/very good annunciation who listed all three. You go up to a bank teller type window (behind the bullet-proof glass) and receive a copy of everyone's passport. Then you wait again until all families have that paperwork then an American comes out, gives you some facts about the number of adoptions and all the documents they process, etc. Then you all raise your right hand and pledge that all the information you have provided regarding your adoption is accurate and truthful to the best of your knowledge. That's about it! Then another trip back to the hotel just in time to connect w/the last two couples for a river boat trip. Traffic was terrible so we actually missed the boat we thought we we're going to take. But the good Lord was smiling down because, since we were late, we got a discount on our ticket prices!

Mama making a dash for the Dragon Boat we took our river trip on (still raining!)






Nate did pretty well on the cruise. He got to look out the windows @all the lighted buildings and other activity on the Pearl River. We got back to the hotel late, he took a bath, he and Mama had a ticklefest and we all went to bed!

Old Man and the Sea, evidently the Old Man doesn't have his sea legs!

Today was another shopping adventure. Thank goodness the dollar goes far in this country. In a way it's kind of sad because, at times, it feels like they see Americans w/their adopted child and they see dollar, or yuan, signs! Many of the shops we have visited have been very nice and helpful. Some have the sales associates following you around the WHOLE time. We caught a taxi back to our hotel to await our phone call to let us know all the paperwork had been processed and Nate's passport was ready to go!

Muscle-man Nate Dog trying to show the elevator who's boss!

Our guides phoned about 16:00 to let us know everything was in order! We stopped by their apartment to get the paperwork and decided we needed to give the pool a dance since we're running out of time. It is definitely warm enough for swimming, however, the pool is outdoors and unheated. The setting is beautiful and the outside temperature is somewhere around the mid 70s, but the pool was COLD! Mama was the brave soul to take Nate in for his first swim. Dad hung out on the edge, getting acclimated (ha-ha). He seemed to enjoy the water and especially like when Denise would splash or go motorboating w/him!

This kid's Mama would go to the end's of the Earth for him. Actually we've come kinda close on this journey!

We went back to the hotel and Denise gave Nate a bath to help warm him up. She was hoping he could play in the tub while I blog and she starts packing. Tomorrow we're hoping to keep low key. We have no more guides, they had to leave today for Shanghai for another group coming in. Ironically that is the same group we would have been in had we decided to wait until the end of the month to travel. I believe it is safe to say that we are BLESSED w/all that we have been through and the time we travelled. According to one of our guides many things would have been different had we travelled later. Different hotels, different guides, etc. We are thankful for our time here building our relationship w/our son. At the moment, I'm kind of the court jester, bill payer, and "bad guy" when it comes to removing him from a situation or giving Denise a little breathing room It's a role I am unsure in and I ask the Lord everyday to give me guidance in leading our family down this path he has laid before us. It is only through him that I can become the kind of  father that Nathaniel needs to become the man He has in mind. I also owe an unimaginable debt to my ever loving wife of 15 years whose love, understanding, compassion, and patience make each day a blessing! I'm not sure I'll be able to post anymore, but know you are all in our thoughts and prayers as we begin to close this chapter in our lives and begin a whole NEW saga! Many thanks again for your thoughts and prayers, it has been adventure and it is now time to come home!

Troy